Electric fan



Sept. 28, 1954 RODWlCK 2,690,296

ELECTRIC FAN Filed Dec. 2, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR.

Sept. 28, 1954 F. P. RODWICK 2,690,296

ELECTRIC FAN Filed Dec. 2, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

BY W %M Patented Sept. 28, 1954 "U NI TE D S TATES PATENT OFFI CE Frank FP. 'Rodwick, Chicago, .IlL, .assignor, by .mesne assignments, to The Silex Company, Hartford, Cnn.,.a corporation of Connecticut Application 'December 2, 1950,-SeriaI'N0.;198;8'22

This invention is concerned generally with a portable electric fan and-is 'concerned more:particularly with an improved fan guard.

Portable electric "fans as generally.- constructed comprise an electric motor, a fan-blade orpropeller, a'blade or propeller guard-anda base or support for supporting "the motor, propeller and guard. .The guardgenerally .is constructed in the form of a cage and is made of lengths of wire bent to the proper shape and spot welded together. The spot welding'must be'doneprior-to painting plating,-or otherwise finishingtheguard topreclude burning ofthe finish.

Heretofore considerable difficulty has: been encountered .in assembling and finishing the guard andproperly positioning the guard abouttherpropeller. If the guardis assembled and finished prior to being "placed about .the propeller, -it is extremelydinicult-to assemble the propeller and guard relatively. On the-other.hand,,if the-propeller-is placed within theguardbefore complete assembly of theguardit is quitedifiicult-to finish the .parts properly.

Thebroad objectof this.inv.ention resides in the provision .of anew and. improved tan ,guard obviating theabove mentioneddifliculties.

Another object of this invention ,is .the ;provision of afan or propeller guard wherein the elements constituting .theguard are welded .together toform separate frontv and back sections, which sections-are thereaftenpainted .or.otherwise finishedland then secured together about the H propeller or .fan' blade by means causing .no damage to the finish.

.Morespecifica'lly, an object of .this invention resides in theprovision of .a fan .or propeller guardas set forth in the preceding object wherein the front and rear sections ofthe guardreadily snap together without the necessity of tools .or fastening elements.

Yet another object of this invention is the provision of a fanguard having readily separable front and rear sections to facilitate cleaning of the fan blade or propeller mounted within the guard.

A stillfurther .object of this inventionis the provision of a fan'guardhaving separate Qfront andv rear: sections which readily can .be snapped togetherabout a fanblade or propeller wherein an axially extending .finger is provided -on one of the sections to facilitate assembly ofthe two sections.

.Yet another cobject ;of :this invention .is the provision of =.a fansguard as 'set rforthzin -the :last

preceding object wherein the finger serves also:

12 as a. convenient .handle for carryingor adjusting the-.fan.

Another obj ect. of this invention is the provision of .a .fan -.guard .having separate .-front and .rear sections with oneofthesections carrying an extending finger .to .facilitate assembly of the sections .wherein .like sections can .be stacked in nested Jfashionprior. to assembly.

.Another obj ect. of this invention resides in the provisiontofa .fan guard having cooperable .front and rear sections wherein the -peripherallportion of one of the sections comprises a substantially cylindrical .band having. an .arcuate bead and the peripheraLpor-tion oftheJOther section comprises a .liiscontin'uous resilient .wire .interfitting with said bead.

Other .an'd .jfurther objects .and advantages of thepresent "invention will be apparentirom the following "description when taken; in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l'is afront view of a fan embodying'the principles of my invention;

Fig. 2Tis a sideflview .of'the sameian;

Fig. 31s aperspective view .of the front section of .the fan guard;

Fig-41s .aperspective view ofthe rear section;

Fig. 5.is an enlarged sectional viewshowing the sections of "the fan guard "being assembled;

Fig. 6 is ,a view similar 'toiliiglfi showingthe sections in assembled relation;

Fig.7 is a fragmentary detailed view taken substantially alongthe' line'l-I of Fig.4 showing the 'means for attachingthe guard 'to the fan base or-support;

'Fig.8is a, view taken along the line 6-8 'of Fig. '7;

"Fig. 9 is 'aperspective 'view showing the nesting of a plurality of frOntzsect-ions ofmy 'fan guard prior "to assembly; 1 and Fig.10'-is a perspective view showing the nesting of rear sectionspriorto"assembly.

Referringfirst'to Figs. 1 "and 2, a fan l2 embodying'thefprinciples 'of my inventionmay be seen "to comprise a motor casing M within which is mounted; a "conventional electric fan motor, a fan blade'o'r propeller T6,. a'ian guard generally deSignatedasII'B anda'support'zll secure'dto the propeller ;guard and supporting the other parts of the "fan. The*motor casing I4 is shown as the type formed of two sections secured together by a clamping ring.'.22. The rear of the .casing 14 is. apertured. as at Q24 to provide ventilation. for the fan motor and a dropcorcl 26 extends through a-suitable eaperture in'the casing to supply electricipowerztotheumotor therein. .A conventional 3 on-off switch 23 is provided near the rear of the casing to control energization of the fan motor. The fan blade or propeller may be of any conventional construction and is shown as having four vanes or blades formed integrally and mounted on the motor shaft 39.

In addition to Figs. 1 and 2, reference should be had also to Figs. 3 and 4 for the construction of the fan guard 88. The fan guard comprises a front section 32 (shown in detached position in dashed lines in Fig. 2) and a rear section 3 5. The front section 32 includes a peripheral wire 38 having an arcuate extent of somewhat less than 360 degrees. In the particular example shown, the arcuate extent of the wire 36 is somewhat over 270 degrees although the wire may be of greater or lesser extent. As long as the wire is in a discontinuous circle, its inherent resilience allows it to be flexed radially of the circle on which it lies. A wire ring 38 of lesser diameter than the peripheral wire 36 is spaced forwardly of the peripheral wire 3% by symmetrically disposed wire spacers ld. The spacers it are shown as being four in number and each such spacer has one end 32 welded to the rear of the ring 38 from which point the spacer curves outwardly and rearwardly to be welded to the peripheral wire 36 along a portion where the spacer and peripheral wire lie in substantially tangent contacting relation as at M. From the welded junction .4 each spacer ii) curves forwardly and inwardly to the rear of the ring 33 where it is Welded as at it. From the welded junction it each spacer til extends substantially radially inwardly to a button (it aligned with the center of the propeller Hi where it does not interfere significantly with the air stream from the fan. The inward extensions of the spacers iii are turned to form transversely extending fingers 53 about which lugs on the button t8 may be bent to secure the button to the spacers.

A finger 58 comprising a substantially U- shaped length of wire extends rearwardly from the top portion of the peripheral wire 35. The ends of the U forming one end of the finger iii are welded to the inside of the peripheral wire 36, and the bight forming the other end of the finger is deflected downwardly.

The rear section M of the fan guard comprises a substantially cylindrical band 52 formed of a single strip of sheet material, preferably sheet metal, and having its ends secured as by a butt weld i i to form a continuous ring, The substantially cylindrical band 52 is provided with an arcuate bead 55 concave toward the inner side of the band. This bead is shown in cross-section in Figs. 5 and 6, and in thesefigures it may be seen that the band 52 is flared slightly outwardly as at at and it from the bead to facilitate assembly of the fan guard. A pair of substantially V-shaped spacers E52 has forwardly extending fingers which are spot welded to the inner surface of the band 52. The ends of the fingers are located at the rear edge of the bead 5E and provide stops as will be apparent hereinafter. A continuous ring 6 5, which conveniently is of the same diameter as the ring 33 of the front section is welded to the V-shaped spacers 62 on the rear thereof, Each spacer B2 is provided at its apex with an eyelet $8. Bolts iii are passed through these eyelets and threaded into apertures in the front of the motor casing to secure the fan guard to the casing.

Assembly of the fan guard IS with the motor casing i Q and propeller iii readily is accomplished after the casing, propeller, and guard have been painted or otherwise finished. The rear section of the guard is secured to the motor casing by the bolts ill as indicated previously. The propeller then is secured to the motor shaft in any conventional manner and the front section of the fan guard is assembled with the rear section. The lower portion of the peripheral wire 36 of the front section is placed within the band 52 of the rear section and is inserted in the head 56 therein. The diameter of the peripheral wire 35 is decreased slightly by pushing down on the finger t and the front section is forced rearwardly relative to the rear section, the outwardly flared portion 53 of the band 52 camming the peripheral wire 36 to a smaller diameter as seen in Fig. 5. The normal diameter of the peripheral wire 36 is substantially equal to the diameter of the band 52 and is greater than the minimum internal diameter of the band. Therefore, when the wire 36 reaches the bead 56, it springs outwardly to be seated firmly in the bead as shown in Fig. 6. In normal use there are substantially no forces tending to shift the front and rear guard sections axially (i. e. forwardly or rear-, wardly) of one another and the two sections of the guard remain secured to one another. The stops formed by the ends of the forwardly directed fingers M of the V-shaped spacers 62 preclude accidental movement of a part of the peripheral wire 35 past the bead 56. The front section readily may be removed to facilitate cleaning of the fan blade or propeller by pushing down on the finger El to free the upper portion of the peripheral wire 36 from the bead 58 and then pushing forwardly on the finger, this being substantially the converse of the assembly operation.

The motor and motor casing l4, propeller l6, andguard [8 are supported by the base 20 as indicated heretofore. The base 29 includes a pedestal l2 which conveniently may be of cast metal. The pedestal is elongated to preclude tipping of the entire fan forwardly or rearwardly and is provided with feet 1:2 of rubber or other resilient material to prevent marking of a supporting surface. A strip 16 is secured within a transverse slot in the lower portion of the pedestal 12 by any suitable means and extends outwardly and upwardly from both sides of the pedestal and is arcuate at its upper ends to accommodate the cylindrical band 52 of the rear section of the fan guard in juxtaposition. Threaded studs 18 (Figs. '2 and 8) are provided with a bifurcated head 86 which straddles the bead 5E. Extending legs 82 of the head 8i] fit through apertures on either side of the bead 59 and are peened over to secure the threaded stud it to the band 52. The studs l8 are passed through aligned apertures adjacent the upper ends of the striplB and knurled knobs 84 are threaded on to the studs to clamp the upstanding ends of the striplfi against the heads til to secure the fan guard, propeller and motor casing in any desired position.

It will be apparent that when the fan is adjusted to direct an air stream up or down that the finger 5| may be grasped to pivot the fan about the studs 18 without the operators bringing his hands near the propeller. The finger 5! further serves as a convenient handle for carrying the fan about.

As may be seen in Figs. 9 and 10, the front and rear sections 32 and 34 readily are stacked in nested fashion prior to assembly. The peripheral wire 36 of each of the front sections comprises th'e outermost portion of each of these sections and .the peripheral :wires =lie 'above one another. It is necessary only to rotate each section slightly relative to the one on which .it rests to provide clearance for the "fingers 5| .and to ,provide "clearance for'the'we'lde'd junctions M between the spacers 4'0 and peripheral'wires '36. Each .front section in the stack is supported by the ;ring 3.8.lying on'top of :the spacers "410 of the section .iimmediately "below it.

"The cylindrical bands 52 of adjacent rear sections 34 lie on top of one another when in stacked array and maintain the rings 66 and V-shaped spacers 62 out of contact with one another. Rotation of each rear section relative to the adjacent rear section provides clearance for the knobs 84.

The fan disclosed herein is simpler and less expensive to construct than those known heretofore, and unsightly markings due to welding after finishing are eliminated. The fan is more effective in use than those known heretofore due to the ease with which the guard is disassembled for cleaning of the propeller and due to the convenient carrying handle provided by the finger used in assembling and disassembling the guard.

Although a particular form of my invention has been shown and described herein, it is to be understood that this is for illustrative purposes only and that my invention is to include all that which falls fairly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fan guard for use with a fan having a propeller and means for driving said propeller, comprising a front propeller guard section, a rear propeller guard section, means providing a substantially cylindrical periphery on one of said sections and forming substantially a complete circle, a substantially circular bead in said substantially cylindrical periphery, and a resilient wire disposed substantially peripherally of the other of said sections and interfitting with said bead to maintain said sections securely in assembled relation, said wire being less than 360 in arcuate extent to facilitate flexing into said bead.

2. A fan guard as set forth in claim 1 wherein the means providing the substantially cylindrical periphery of one of said sections is flared to cam the resilient wire of the other section into the bead.

3. A fan guard as set forth in claim 1 wherein a finger is rigidly afiixed to the resilient wire to aid in deflecting said wire into the bead of the other section.

4. A fan guard for use with a fan having a propeller and means for driving said propeller, including a rear fan guard section, a front fan guard section, means providing a substantially continuous arcuate periphery on one of said sections, a substantially continuous arcuate bead on said arcuate periphery, and means providing a discontinuous arcuate periphery on the other of said sections interfitting with said bead over an are greater than substantially 180 to retain said sections securely in assembled relation.

5. A fan guard for use with a fan having a propeller and means for driving said propeller, comprising a propeller guard having front and rear sections; said rear section including a substantially cylindrical peripheral band of substantially 360 in arcuate extent, an inwardly opening arcuate bead extending completely around said band, and a plurality of wire spacers adapted to be secured to the propeller driving means of a 6.. fanpsaid spacers beingweldediintoithezinnerasur face of said band zalongoneiedge of isaidzbead L provide a :plurality o'f stops for positioning said front section; and "said Ifront =1section comprising a wire ring, a plurality of wire spacers welded :to said ring, and a discontinuous resilient wire ring having a substantial :arcuate extent and welded to said last named spacers and fitting withinssaid bead =to secure said front and rear: sections inassembledirelati'on, movement-'dfsaid.ring past said bead in assenibly 'being limited -by 1 said :stops.

6. A fan guard for use with a fan having a propeller and means for driving said propeller, comprising a propeller guard having front and rear sections; said rear section including a substantially cylindrical peripheral band forming substantially a complete circle, an inwardly opening arcuate bead extending substantially completely around said band, and a plurality of wire spacers adapted to be secured to the propeller driving means of a fan, said spacers being welded to the inner surface of said band along one edge of said bead to provide a plurality of stops for positioning said front section; and said front section comprising a Wire ring, a plurality of wire spacers welded to said ring, a discontinuous arcuate peripheral wire of substantial arcuate extent welded to said last named spacers and resiliently fitting within said bead to secure said sections in assembled relation, said stops limiting the inserted position of said wire for fitting within said bead, and a substantially axially extending finger welded to said discontinuous peripheral wire to facilitate engagement and disengagement of said wire with said bead.

7. An electric fan comprising motor means having a casing, a propeller driven by said motor means, a rear fan guard section secured to said casing and having a peripheral band forming substantially a complete circle, an arcuate bead extending substantially completely around said band, adjustable means for supporting said motor means, propeller, and rear guard section, and a front guard section having a resilient peripheral wire fitting in the head of said rear section to maintain said sections in detachable assembled relation, said wire being less than 360 in arcuate extent to facilitate flexing into and out of said bead.

8. A fan guard for use with a fan having a propeller and means for driving said propeller, including a rear fan guard section, a front fan guard section, means providing an arcuate periphery on one of said sections, an arcuate bead on said arcuate periphery and arcuately substantially coextensive therewith, and means providing an arcuate periphery on the other of said sections, one of said peripheries being arcuately substantially continuous and the other of said peripheries being arcuately discontinuous, the means providing the periphery on said other of said sections interfitting with said bead over an are greater than substantially 180 to retain said sections securely in assembled relation.

9. A fan guard for use with a fan having a propeller and means for driving said propeller, comprising a propeller guard having a front and rear sections; one of said sections including a substantially cylindrical peripheral band forming a periphery, an inwardly opening arcuate bead in said band and substantially coextensive arcuately therewith, and a plurality of wire spacers extending inwardly from said band, said spacers being welded on to the inner surface of said band along one edge of said bead to provide a plurality of 7 8 stops for positioning the other of said sections; References Cited in the file of this patent and said other section comprising a wire ring, a UNITED STATES PATENTS plurality of wire spacers welded to said ring, and a second wire ring welded to said last named Number Name Date spacers and fitting within said bead to secure said 5 1,577,280 Xlppas 161 1926 sections in assembled relation, one of said pe- 118711625 Luff 1932 ripheries being of substantially 360 in arcuate 2,123,448 Weber July 1938 extent and the other of said peripheries being re- 21259353 Koch 21, 1941 silient and having a substantial arcuate extent, 2387,29; 1 8, 1949 movement of the second named wire ring past said 10 2,493,968 Vlewegh 28, 1950 bead in assembly being limited by said stops. 21617533 Kemlerl 1952 

